Sudan leader: Talks only way forward for S. Sudan

Jan. 6, 2014 - 11:48AM
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Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir speaks after meeting Monday with South Sudan's President Salva Kiir, in the capital Juba, South Sudan. Officials close to the talks between representatives of South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar in Ethiopia said Monday that direct talks between the warring factions of South Sudan have stalled after hitting a snag over differences on the agenda. (Ali Ngethi / AP)

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA — The president of Sudan said during a visit to former enemy territory on Monday that 20 years of war with South Sudan taught the people of his country that negotiations are the only way forward for the region.

Sudan President Omar al-Bashir said he feared that after allowing South Sudan to hold a vote to break away from Sudan in 2011, the outbreak of violence could mean “that our huge sacrifice did not bear fruit.”

“We have come to see what we can do to stop this war knowing all too well that armed conflict would never resolve a problem and also knowing that any problem no matter how complicated can be solved at the negotiation table,” Bashir said.

“We fought each other for 20 and in the end we sat and talked peace. Any further fighting is just a perpetuation of suffering for innocent civilians and loss in of lives and more destruction,” he added.

Talks in Ethiopia between representatives of South Sudan President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar have gotten off to a slow start. A news conference on progress was set for later Monday.

South Sudan has seen three weeks of violence that Kiir says began as a coup attempt Dec. 15, though Machar’s side denies the allegation. Violence began as a political dispute but has since taken on ethnic dimensions, with tribes attacking each other.

The warfare has forced an estimated 200,000 people to flee their homes in search of safety. The U.N. has said more than 1,000 people have died, a number that is believed to be a low estimate. Forces loyal to Machar have been in control of two important state capitals.

Bashir flew to Juba, South Sudan’s country capital, on Monday to meet with Kiir, a meeting the southern government said “confirms the strength of our relationship.”

After decades of war, South Sudan peacefully broke away from Sudan in 2011. The two countries remain bound together by their shared oil industry. South Sudan has most of the region’s oil but it must pump it through pipelines that run through Sudan. The outbreak of fighting is costing Sudan lost oil revenue.

Anti-government forces loyal to Machar control the town of Bentiu, the capital of oil-rich Unity State. The south’s government has said oil is no longer flowing from Unity’s fields. Most, if not all, of the Chinese and Pakistani oil workers have left the country because of the outbreak of violence.

“We are convinced that armed conflict will only create complications that will do no good that the people (of South Sudan) must and will come back to the negotiating table,” Bashir told a news conference.

Kiir told reporters that “taking power by military force is a crime” and that Machar’s actions should be condemned by the international community.

In Ethiopia, China’s foreign minister was set to meet representatives from both sides. Wang Yi told a news conference that China wants a cessation of hostilities and the establishment of law and order. China is the biggest investor in South Sudan’s oil industry.